It is becoming relatively common for children to have cell phones and/or text messaging devices in addition to other communications services such as E-mail.
In recent times, a great deal of concern has been expressed with regard to a parent's ability to monitor and/or control a child's access and use of communications services.
In the case of Internet access, filtering programs which a parent can use to block a child's access to content and/or websites which the parent deems to be inappropriate for the child have grown in popularity and have found some success. While such programs are useful in the case of controlling Internet access and a child's exposure to Internet content, a child may still be vulnerable to exposure to individuals and/or information which a parent may deem inappropriate through a cell phone, E-mail or other messaging device. For example, pedophiles and/or other undesirable individuals may try to strike up conversations with children via cell phones and/or text messages, without a parent's knowledge, after obtaining a child's contact information through other means.
While one option to controlling a child's use of a cell phone would be for the parent to limit the child from using the cell phone when the parent is not present, such use restrictions are not practical since a parent can not be reasonably expected to be with a child at all times a cell phone might be used.
In order to give a parent greater control over a child's communications with others, and the contacting of a child by someone outside the family, it would be desirable if methods and apparatus could be developed which would notify a parent when a child is contacted by, or attempts to contact someone outside the family using a cell phone, text message, and/or E-mail. While a parent may be concerned with calls and/or text messages to/from some individuals but not others, it would be desirable if the parent could be able to set some conditions on when the parent would be notified regarding a child's communications. In addition, it would be desirable if a parent could block a child's incoming and/or outgoing communications on a selective basis or redirect particular communications as the parent sees fit. From a parent's perspective, it would be highly desirable if the parent could control/supervise a child's communications though a single interface without having to contact multiple service providers and/or use different communications devices to set parental controls on the various communications services which may be provided to a child.